Energy absorption within the instrument panel assembly of an automobile is desirable during a frontal automobile crash to control the loads transmitted to an occupant and thereby reduce the likelihood of injury when an occupant makes contact with the instrument panel.
During a frontal crash, an occupant will tend to slide forward in their seat. As a result, it is possible that the knees of the occupant may strike a lower portion of the instrument panel at the front of the cabin. If the knees strike the instrument panel or other surface at the front of the cabin with sufficient force, the femur or other bones of the occupant may be broken, or other injuries sustained. An energy absorbing knee bolster, often a padded portion of the instrument panel, may be provided in a location where an occupant's knees are likely to strike. As the knees of the occupant strike the knee bolster, the knee bolster cushions the knees and absorbs at least some of the energy of the impact, thereby reducing the maximum load transmitted to the occupant.
It is known to provide deformable supports for knee bolsters in automobiles. These supports are located between the knee bolster and a bracket that fixes the knee bolster to the instrument panel of the automobile. The support will deform or collapse and absorb some of the energy of the impact when an occupant's knees strike the knee bolster. Thus, the maximum load transmitted to an occupant during an impact will be reduced.
Conventional deformable supports are curved metallic sections that roll-up or flex during an impact, or are made from extruded metallic sections that are crushed during an impact. Such metal sections are both relatively costly and inconvenient components to include in a collapsible support for absorbing energy during an impact.